Sewing-machine ruffler.



No. 822,892. PATENTED JUNE 5, 1906.

J. M. GREIST, DBGD.

M. 1, W. & P R. GREIST, ADMINISTRATORS.

SEWING MACHINE RUPFLER.

APPLICATION FILED 0011.31, 1905.

] NVEN T 016:

Attorney.

- UNITED STATES JOHN M. GREIST, on NEW COMPANY, A

PATENT oFFIoE.

HAVEN, CONNECTICUT; MARY F. W. GREIST AND P. RAYMOND GREIST ADMINISTRATORS GREIST, DECEASED, ASSIGNORS TO THE GRIEST CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

OF SAID JOHN M.

MANUFACTURING SEWING-MACHINE RUFFLER.

Specification of Letters Patentv Patented June 5, 1906 Application filed October 31, 1905. Serial No. 285,295.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN M. GRnIsT, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Rufflers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to sewing-machine rufflers of that class in which the ruffiing or gathering blades are operated from the needle-bars of the sewing-machines; and the invention has for its object to provide a rufller of the class referred to which is of such construction that the rufHing-blade is advanced to form a rufiie or gather during the early part of the descent of the needle-bar and before the point of the needle penetrates the work. This operation is advantageous in some classes of sewing-machines as compared with the usual operation of ruffling attachments supplied with family sewing-machines and in which the rufHing-blades are advanced during the upward movements of the needle-bars, for the reason that in some family sewing-machines the take-up or stitch-tightening movement occurs after the needle has reached its highest point and before the ruffling-blade is retracted, thus subjecting the upper thread to an increased frictional straln because of its being drawn between two laits or gathers formed in the work, while the latter is under the pressure of the rufliing-blade, thereby unduly increasing the tension of the lower thread of a lockstitch machine to such an extent as to prevent its being properly drawn into the gooclls by the upper thread to form a perfect stitc While sewing-machine rufliing attachments in which the rufiies or gathers are formed at the downward strokes of the needle-bars and before the points of the needles penetrate the work have heretofore been made to some extent, such previous attachments did not allow of sufficient variation or latitude between the timing of differentlyconstructed or differently -adjusted machines or for variation in the timing of rufflers which varied slightly in construction or adjustment; and the present invention has for its object to provide a ruffler in which the rufding-blade is advanced to form a ruflie or gather during the early part of the downward stroke of the needle-bar and in which the rufliing-blade in forming its rufifle or gather will always be advanced to the same point notwithstanding certain inaccuracies in the adjustment or construction in the ruffler itself or of the machine to which it may be applied. T s result is eflected by providing a ruflier in which the lever which actuates the rufiiing-blade receives its movements through an intermediate lever connected with the operating or needle-bar lever by a link which forms a toggle, the three pivotpoints of which are straightened or brought into line, or practically so, to effect the eX- treme forward throw of the rufiling-blade before the point of the needle reaches the work, but which permits of some additional movement of the operating-lever without further forward movement of the rufiling-blade. This'effects the same result as an allowance for considerable lost motion between the parts referred to, and thus adapts the attachment to differently-adjusted or imperfectlyconstructed ruffiing attachments or sewingmachines without resulting in any perceptible variations in the working or timing of the rufiEling-blades.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a ruffler embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the improved rufiler, and Fig. 3 is a side view of the same with the regulating-disk removed. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on line 4 4, Fig. 1; and Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views of some of the parts.

Referring to the drawings, the frame of the ruffler comprises a standard 12, a presserfoot portion 13, and a shank portion 14, adapted for attachment to a sewing-machine resser-bar, these parts or elements being preferably of one piece of metal. Attached to the standard 12 by a pin or rivet 15 is the operating-lever 16, having an arm 17 and a notch or slot 18, the latter being adapted to receive a pin or roller-stud on the needle-bar of a sewing-machine and which pin or rollerstud during the latter part of the descent of the said needle-bar will be in contact with the said arm 17.

The rufliing-blade 19 is attached to a carrier 20, which is pivotally connected at its lower end to an actuating-lever 21, fulcrumed on a screw or pin 22, on which the intermediate lever 23 is also fulcrumed =or pivoted, said'intermediat'e lever being connected by a link 24 with the needle-bar-oper ating lever 16, the pivotal points or joints of said link 24 with said operating-lever and in termcdiate lever being, respectively, at the studs or pins 25 and 26. i

To provide for an adjustable connection between the actuating-lever 21 and the intermediate lever 23, the said lever 21 is providedwith alu'g or projection 27, received in arecess 28 in the said intermediate lever 23 and said recess also receives a pivoted regulating -d'og 29, provided with a-small' lug or projection 30, which is received in an eccentrio slot 31, formed'in an adjusting-disk 32, and which disk may be turned to provide'for more or less lost motionbetween the free end 33 of the saidregul'ating-dog'and the said lug or projection 27 on the lever 21. This'construction, whereby the throw-of the millingblade is adjusted or regulated, is essentially the same as that shown and described in my United States Patent No. 802,637, granted October 24, 1905." If the said regulating-dog be so adjusted as to be in contact with the said lug or projection 30 when the latter-is against the stop afforded by the upper wall at the point'34 of the slot or recess28 in the intermediate lever 23, there will be no lost motion between the said. intermediate lever and the actuating-lever 21, and the rufflingblade will'have its full forward andbackward throw; but if the said regulating-dog be so adjusted that there is more or less lost mo tion between the said intermediate and actuating'levers "the throwof the ruffling-blade willbe correspondingly lessened. The disk 32 is retained in any position to which it may be adjusted by a spring plate or pawl 35 en gaging a pin 36 on the lever 23 and provided with'an inturned tooth or projection 37 engaging the serrated portion 38 of an indexdisk 39 attached to the said disk 32, as in the 1 constructionshown in my said patent.

In the operation of this improved ruffler the rufiling-blade is advanced'fromits rearward or retracted position (shown-in Fig. 1) to its extreme forward position 1 (shown in Fig. 3) during the early part of the descent of the needle-bar and before the point of the needle reaches the work.- IVhen the rufflingblade reaches its extreme advanced position to form a ruffle or gather, the pivotal points 15, 25, and 26 are so nearlyin line, as shown by full'lines in Fig. 3, that the further descent of the needle-bar, so as to move the op crating-lever 16 from the position shown in fulllinesto the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, will simply move the center of the pivotal point 25 at the forward end of the .the ruffling-blade lever link 24 from slightly below to slightly above a straight line running between the pivotal point 15 of the: operating-lever and the joint 26, where the said link isattached to the intermediate lever, without producing any perceptible further forward movement of the rufHing-blade. This admits of considerable variation in the timing or adjustments of different sewing-machines or of some variations in the construction or adjustment of the rufflers-Without producing any perceptible difference in the timing of the forward throw of the rufHing-blade, so that'thisconstruction permits the improvedrufiler to' be applied to differently-adjusted or somewhat differently timed sewingqnachin'es withoutmaking any noticeable difference in the rufliing operations, and: thereby adapts the improved ruf+' fler, forming rufli'es during the early parts of the descents of'the' needle-bar, to family machines generally.

Having thus described my invention, I claim "and desire to secure by Letters-Patent- 1. In a sewing machine ruffl'er, the combination with arufiiing bladey an actuating-lever with which-said blade =is connected, a needle bar-operated lever, an intermediate lever loosely connected withsaidactuatinglever, and a link connectingsaid intermedi ate lever with said needle-bar-operated lever.

2. In a sewing-machine ruflier, the combination with a rufiiing-blade, an actuating-le ver with which saidblad'e is connected, a needle-bar-operated lever, an intermediate lever, alink connecting said intermediate lever witlrsaid needle-bar-operated lever, and adjusting means between said intermediate lever and said actuating lever.

3. In a sewing machine ruflier, the combination with the operating-lever 1 6 having the arm '17 and the open slot-=or notch 18, of 21, the rufliingrblade connected therewith, the intermediate lever 23 and the link 24 connecting said: levers-16 and 23.

4. In a sewing-machinerufller,the combination with the operatingvlever 16 having the arm- 17 and the slot1or notch 18, of the ruffling-blade lever 2 1, the ruffling-blade connected therewith, the intermediate lever 23, the link 24 connecting said levers 16 and 23, said intermediate lever 23 being provided with a recess, a pivoted regulating-dog-29 in said recess, and means for-adjusting said; dog in said recess and for 'retaining it in its different positions of adjustment:

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

J OHN M. GREIST.

Witnesses:

WALTER O. GREIST, HUBERT GREIST,

IZC 

